Animals when shown care and love will return the same favor and endear to humans. Watch the reaction of this ecstatic lioness who instantly jumped on to her favorite “human” upon seeing him!

Valentin Gruener has dedicated himself to protecting big cats and seems to have a special place in his heart for them.

A lioness by the name of Sirga is so attached to Valentin for the reason that he was the one who saved her from certain death, when she was driven out of her pride as a cub. He then brought her to the Modisa Wildlife Project, Botswana, a conserve for big cats set up by Valentin Gruener and Mikkel Legarth, in association with the Grassland Safari Lodge.

The video was taken by John Hawkins who said: “Val is a wildlife conservationist who raised Sirga almost from birth,

“This guy is exceptionally inspirational. He takes her on game walks and she can hunt on her own,” as reported by Mirror.

“Grassland started their conservation work by capturing lions and other big cats in conflict with farmers to spare them from certain death,” said Gruener.

The objective of the project is to protect lions and farmers alike from killing each other.

The reserve takes in lions that would be, otherwise at risk.

The primary aim of the Modisa Wildlife project is clearly explained on its website: “During the past few decades, wildlife in Botswana has experienced a significant decline – a drop of more than 60 percent – caused by people taking over wild land, the decline of prey species, and poaching. Lack of attention to the problem locally and internationally has also contributed to this severe decline. Modisa aims to use education and awareness campaigns to implement sustainable changes in the area.”